Lidar based Road Condition Estimation for Passenger Vehicles

Abstract

A method performed by a vehicle system for enabling estimation of a condition of a road comprising obtaining, from a sensor mounted on a vehicle, first data comprising a first plurality of data points, each comprising longitudinal, lateral and vertical coordinates representing dimensions of a part of the road at a first time, obtaining a second plurality of data points, each comprising longitudinal, lateral and vertical coordinates representing dimensions of the part of the road at a second time, wherein the first time is more recent than the second time, segmenting the first plurality of data points into a plurality of segmented data areas based on longitudinal and lateral coordinates of the first plurality of data points, and estimating a respective vertical position in each segmented data area based on vertical coordinates of the second plurality of data points and a motion state of the vehicle at the second time.

1 . A method performed by a vehicle system for enabling estimation of a condition of a road, the method comprising:
 Obtaining, from a sensor mounted on a vehicle, first data comprising a first plurality of data points, wherein each of the first plurality of data points comprises longitudinal, lateral and vertical coordinates representing respective dimensions of a part of the road at a first time;   Obtaining a second plurality of data points, wherein each of the second plurality of data points comprises longitudinal, lateral and vertical coordinates representing respective dimensions of the part of the road at a second time, wherein the first time is more recent than the second time;   Segmenting the first plurality of data points into a plurality of segmented data areas based on the longitudinal and lateral coordinates of the first plurality of data points by dividing a representation of the part of the road into the plurality of segmented data areas and assigning each of the first plurality of data points to a segmented data area based on the longitudinal and lateral coordinates of the first plurality of data points; and   estimating a respective vertical position in each segmented data area based on the vertical coordinates of the second plurality of data points and a motion state of the vehicle at the second time, wherein the motion state of the vehicle comprises at least one of a longitudinal velocity, a lateral velocity, a vertical velocity, a roll angle, a pitch angle and a yaw angle of the vehicle.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising estimating the condition of the road based on the estimated respective vertical positions. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising calculating a mean of the vertical coordinates of the first plurality of data points for each segmented data area based on vertical coordinates of the first plurality of data points and wherein the condition of the road is estimated based on the calculated means. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the sensor comprises one or more Light Detection and Ranging, LIDAR, sensors. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the motion state of the vehicle is estimated based on sensor data received from one or more motion tracking sensor and/or rotation wheel speed sensors of the vehicle. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the sensor data is received from an inertial measurement unit, IMU, and/or from a wheel speed sensor, WSS. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the condition of the road comprises at least one of a curvature of the road, an inclination of the road, a banking of the road, an anomaly of the road, and a smoothness of the road, wherein the anomaly of the road comprises at least one of a road bump, an undulation, a pothole and a manhole cover. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising adjusting a regenerative braking force of the vehicle based on the estimated condition and/or adjusting a speed profile based on the estimated condition. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising adjusting a steering, a suspension and/or a speed of the vehicle based on the estimated condition. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising obtaining second data indicative of a steering angle to estimate segmented data areas among the plurality of segmented data areas where the vehicle might travel and wherein estimating the condition of the road is further based on the estimated segmented areas. 
     
     
         11 . A vehicle system comprising a memory, and a controller configured to:
 Obtain, from a sensor mounted on a vehicle, first data comprising a first plurality of data points, wherein each of the first plurality of data points comprises longitudinal, lateral and vertical coordinates representing respective dimensions of a part of the road at a first time;   Obtain a second plurality of data points, wherein each of the second plurality of data points comprises longitudinal, lateral and vertical coordinates representing respective dimensions of the part of the road at a second time, wherein the first time is more recent than the second time;   Segment the first plurality of data points into a plurality of segmented data areas based on the longitudinal and lateral coordinates of the first plurality of data points by dividing a representation of the part of the road into the plurality of segmented data areas and assigning each of the first plurality of data points to a segmented data area based on the longitudinal and lateral coordinates of the first plurality of data points; and   Estimate a respective vertical position in each segmented data area based on the vertical coordinates of the second plurality of data points and a motion state of the vehicle at the second time, wherein the motion state of the vehicle comprises at least one of a longitudinal velocity, a lateral velocity, a vertical velocity, a roll angle, a pitch angle and a yaw angle of the vehicle.   
     
     
         12 . The vehicle system according to  claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to estimate the condition of the road based on the estimated respective vertical positions. 
     
     
         13 . The vehicle system according to  claim 12 , wherein the controller is further configured to calculate a mean of the vertical coordinates of the first plurality of data points for each segmented data area based on vertical coordinates of the first plurality of data points and wherein the condition of the road is estimated based on the calculated means. 
     
     
         14 . The vehicle system according to  claim 11 , wherein the sensor comprises one or more Light Detection and Ranging, LIDAR, sensors. 
     
     
         15 . The vehicle system according to  claim 11 , wherein the motion state of the vehicle is estimated based on sensor data received from one or more motion tracking sensor and/or rotation wheel speed sensors of the vehicle. 
     
     
         16 . The vehicle system according to  claim 11 , wherein the sensor data is received from an inertial measurement unit, IMU, and/or from a wheel speed sensor, WSS. 
     
     
         17 . The vehicle system according to  claim 11 , wherein the condition of the road comprises at least one of a curvature of the road, an inclination of the road, a banking of the road, an anomaly of the road, and a smoothness of the road, wherein the anomaly of the road comprises at least one of a road bump, an undulation, a pothole and a manhole cover. 
     
     
         18 . The vehicle system according to  claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to adjust a regenerative braking force of the vehicle based on the estimated condition and/or adjust a steering, a suspension and/or a speed of the vehicle based on the estimated condition and/or adjust a speed profile based on the estimated condition. 
     
     
         19 . The vehicle system according to  claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to obtain second data indicative of a steering angle to estimate segmented data areas among the plurality of segmented data areas where the vehicle might travel and wherein estimating the condition of the road is further based on the estimated segmented areas. 
     
     
         20 . A vehicle comprising the vehicle system according to  claim 11 .